A Visit to Paradise
by shopgirl152
Summary: Ever since Swiftheart, Tenderheart and Good Luck left Polite and Perfect, Good Luck has been sad. He really misses Polite. To cheer him up, Swiftheart and Tenderheart take him for a visit, with an unexpected result.


**A/N**: Perfect and Polite are actual characters that have only been in one episode of the Nelvana Care Bear series, so I did not make them up. The episode is called "The Long Lost Care Bears." Please feel free to leave comments.

* * *

Good Luck Bear sat outside his house on a cloud, watching the sky. _It's been days since I've seen Polite," _he thought_._

"Hi Good Luck. How are you?"

"Huh? Oh, hi Tenderheart."

"What's the matter?"

"I miss Polite."

"Yeah, I miss her too."

"No, I _really_ miss her."

"I know you do, I know." Tenderheart put his arm comfortingly around his friend's shoulder, wondering if they'd ever see Polite and Perfect again.

* * *

"What's wrong Polite? You don't seem right," asked Perfect Panda with concern.

Polite sighed. "I miss Good Luck Bear. I know he cares, but he's there." She pointed to the sky in the direction of Care-a-Lot.

"Maybe we should see him then."

"We can't leave the valley. Remember what happened?"

"The gloom and snow…"

"That comes when we go." Perfect sat down next to his sister, trying to think of a way to help. She had been sad ever since Tenderheart, Swiftheart and Good Luck had left. _Especially_ when Good Luck had left; Polite had developed an immediate fondness for him and Perfect knew that she thought of him often.

"I want to go, but we have to stay"

"It's okay, we'll find a way."

* * *

Back in Care-a-Lot, the sky had turned to dusk. Good Luck got up and stretched.

"Well, thinks for sitting with me Tenderheart. I guess they're not coming today." He walked dejectedly back to his house.

"Good night Good Luck. Sweet dreams." Tenderheart got up off the cloud and stretched as well, thinking. _This is terrible. Good Luck misses Polite so much. I want to help him, but what can I do? There has to be something I can do._

"Hi Tenderheart! What's up?"

"Hi Swiftheart. I was just thinking about Good Luck. He's been down in the dumps ever since we left Polite and Perfect."

"Yeah. He just hasn't been his old self."

"I'm trying to think of something we could do to help, but I can't think of anything."

"Hmmm. They can't come to Care-a-Lot again. If they do that, their valley will turn to snow and ice."

"I know."

"Wait a minute! I got it!" Swiftheart snapped her fingers. "We can visit them! We found the valley once, we can find it again!"

"That's a great idea Swiftheart! We'll tell Good Luck in the morning. He'll be thrilled!"

* * *

The next morning, Good Luck stumbled out of bed, grabbed his telescope and headed for the door. He knew it was pointless to hope that Polite would randomly show up, but that was all he had, hope. He knew they'd be back someday, he just didn't know when. He opened his door and was met by Tenderheart and Swiftheart, who were looking like they were up to something.

"Hi guys. What's up?"

"Well, you see, explained Tenderheart, we have this friend who just hasn't been the same since a certain someone left." Good Luck blushed.

"So, to cheer you up, we thought we'd take you on a little journey."

"Where?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out," said Swiftheart. "Now, hold still while I put this blindfold on."

_Blindfold_? Thought Good Luck. _Where are they taking me_? "Hey, I can't see. What's going on? Tenderheart? Swiftheart?" Good Luck stuck his arms out in front of him.

"Okay, Good Luck. Just follow my voice. Swiftheart will make sure you don't fall."

Good Luck felt Swiftheart take his arm and lead him towards Tenderheart's voice. "Can't you tell me where we're going?"

"You'll see." said Tenderheart. "Trust us."

* * *

A little while later, the cloud car swooped over Paradise, landing directly in front of Polite and Perfect's home.

"Okay, Good Luck. We're here!" said Tenderheart.

"Where's here?"

"You'll see in a minute. Swiftheart?"

"Right Tenderheart!" Swiftheart hopped up to the Panda's door and knocked.

* * *

"Now who could that be? We weren't expecting company," said Perfect, upon hearing a knock on the door.

"Who could it be? Let's go see!" said Polite, tagging along behind her brother. Perfect opened the door and was met by a smiling Swiftheart rabbit.

"Hi!"

The pandas stared in surprise. Polite peered around behind Perfect and almost jumped for joy upon seeing Good Luck, who was standing next to Tenderheart with a blindfold over his eyes. She started to run towards him, but Swiftheart grabbed her by the arm.

"Shhh, he doesn't know where he is," she whispered. "Polite, you sneak up behind him and when Tenderheart says go, take the blindfold off him." Polite nodded and quietly went to stand behind Good Luck.

"Ready Good Luck?"

"I'm ready Tenderheart."

"Okay…go!"

Polite gently took the blindfold off. Good Luck blinked and looked around in surprise. "Perfect?"

"Hi!"

_Okay, there's Perfect. Now where's Polite_? thought Good Luck. He looked to the left and right, then sighed.

"Turn around." said Tenderheart

Good Luck gave Tenderheart a quizzical look, but turned around anyway. He came face to face with Polite, who leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He stood there stunned, then…

"Polite!" He threw his hands up and gave her a bear hug. "It's so good to see you!"

Polite giggled. "It's good to see you too. Now, what should we do?"

"Um…"

"Come on, there's something new I want to show you." Polite grabbed him by the paw and led him off into Paradise. Swiftheart went to follow them.

"No Swiftheart. Let them be," said Tenderheart.

"But—

"Let them be."

"Well, okay. They sure looked happy to see each other. When do you think they'll be back?"

Tenderheart smiled. "Something tells me they won't be back for a while. Perfect, do you mind if we visit you for a while?"

"Not at all. I love it when friends come to call." Perfect led them into the house, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

On the other side of Paradise, Polite and Good Luck were walking paw in paw, enjoying each other's company. They stopped in front of a huge field full of beautiful purple flowers. Good Luck stood in awe, taking everything in.

"Oh Polite, this is beautiful. Is this new?"

Polite giggled. "Yesterday they grew, so it's recently new."

"Wow. Wait right there." He let go of her paw and walked over to the middle of the field. He bent over, examining each flower in turn, searching for the prettiest flower. After searching for a few minutes, he found the perfect one: a beautiful, but tiny flower, with yellow pollen in the middle and five small petals. He walked back over to Polite, flower in hand. "Here, this is for you."

Polite turned the flower over in her paw, examining it. "It's pretty, it's true, but it's not as sweet as you." Good Luck blushed; he hadn't felt this happy in days. Unfortunately, he would have to go home soon; he couldn't stay here, Care-a-Lot needed him; so did the Care Bears. The Pandas couldn't come to Care-a-Lot either; if they came again, Paradise would be covered in snow. He took a deep breath and faced Polite.

"Polite, this day has been wonderful, but I'm afraid I have to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Home. To Care-a-Lot. The Care Bears need me."

"We were having fun. Don't go."

"Polite I…wait a minute. Polite, what happened to your rhyme?"

"Rhyme?"

"You used to rhyme. All the time."

Polite looked blank. "Don't go Good Luck. I'll miss you."

Good Luck took her by the paw, leading her back to the others. _Something is terribly wrong. She always speaks in rhyme. What happened_? He thought. He looked over at her. She was walking with her head down. We _have to get back to the others. This is serious._

* * *

"Tenderheart! Swiftheart! Perfect! Come quick! Something's wrong with Polite!" Good Luck ran towards the door of the house, but as he did, Polite suddenly collapsed on the ground, the purple flower falling out of her paw. The others came running out of the house.

"Is my sister alright? Oh no! She looks a fright!" Perfect ran over towards Polite, kneeling beside her. "She needs a bed! Somewhere to rest her head!"

"Swiftheart, go inside the house and get a blanket and a pillow on a bed. Good Luck and I will help Perfect get her into the house."

"Okay Tenderheart!" Swiftheart ran into the house, racing around until she found a bed, pillow and blanket. She stood aside as Good Luck, Tenderheart and Perfect carried Polite inside and set her down on the bed. Good Luck stood there, heartbroken. He solemnly walked out into the other room and sat down at a nearby table. Tenderheart walked in a few minutes later and sat down next to him.

"Okay Good Luck. Why don't you tell me everything that happened."

Good Luck fought back tears as he attempted to calm himself down enough to talk. "We were having a wonderful day, enjoying each other's company, when we stopped by a field full of flowers. I picked a flower for her and gave it to her, knowing that I had to tell her I couldn't stay here. I told her it had been a wonderful day, but that I couldn't stay. She asked me not to go and then…and then…she lost her rhyme! I knew something was wrong, so I led her back here. While we were walking, she told me not to go and that she'd miss me and she seemed to get weaker and weaker. I didn't mean to do it, Tenderheart, I really didn't. Now she's like this and I don't know what to do."

"We'll think of something Good Luck. We'll think of something," Tenderheart consoled, wondering if there really was anything they could do.

* * *

Swiftheart stood by the bed, watching as Perfect talked to Polite.

"Polite, it's alright," he said.

Swiftheart knelt down next to the bed. "Perfect, what happened? Why is she like this? Has this happened before?"

Perfect looked up. "I thought it was just panda bear lore, but it has happened before."

"What's happened before?"

"A panda like her rhymes all the time. When the heart becomes broken, the rhymes become unspoken."

"Unspoken?"

"Yes. A panda whose rhymes become unspoken, it means their heart is broken."

"What makes the rhyme come back?"

* * *

Good Luck and Tenderheart were still sitting at the table when Swiftheart walked into the room.

"How is she?" asked Good Luck. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yes. According to Panda bear lore, when a panda loses her ability to rhyme, it means her heart is broken."

Good Luck looked anguished. "I broke her heart! That's why she's like this! It's all my fault! I should have never come here!"

"It's not your fault Good Luck. We didn't know this would happen. Nobody could have known this would happen."

"But I hurt her Tenderheart! I broke her heart." He turned to Swiftheart. "Is there a way to fix it?"

"Perfect said that a token of love, giving in earnest friendship and affection, will let Polite know that everything's okay. A token of love will let her know that you still love her and will always think of her. If she believes it, her rhyme will come back."

Good Luck was near tears. "I have no token of affection. Now what am I going to do?"

"Good Luck…" Tenderheart paused, not knowing what to say.

"I need to be alone for a while."

"Okay," said the others. They watched Good Luck walk outside.

"Now what Tenderheart? What do we do now? How can we help?"

"I don't know Swiftheart. I just don't know."

* * *

Good Luck sat outside on the front stoop, his eyes filling with tears. "What have I done? I should never have come here. It only made things worse. For me and Polite." He rested his chin in his paws, looking around Paradise. "There's the beautiful waterfall, the green grass, the warm air, the…wait. What's that on the ground?" Across the yard, he spied something purple. He got up to get a better look. "The purple flower! That's it!" He ran towards the flower, scooping it off the ground. "I know what the token of affection is!"

He ran towards the house, slamming the door open, which banged shut behind him as he ran in.

"Quick! Someone get me a vase full of water!"

"Huh? A vase? For what, asked Swiftheart, looking confused.

"Of course! The flower you picked for her! That's the token of affection!" Tenderheart jumped off the table and ran to the cupboard to get a vase with some water. As soon as the vase was full of water, Good Luck placed the flower gently in the vase and slowly walked into Polite's room.

"Do you think it will work?" asked Swiftheart.

"I hope so, said Tenderheart. That's our only hope."

* * *

Good Luck walked into the room carrying the flower. He gently set it on the night table next to Polite's bed. He kneeled by the bed, taking her paw in his.

"Polite, I picked this flower for you because I wanted you to know that even though I'm going back to Care-a-Lot, I will think of you often. Just because I'm not here doesn't mean I don't care about you, or that I'll stop caring. You mean the world to me. Our bond is much to strong to give up now, to stop caring. What I'm saying is, I love you Polite and I always will. Whether we're together or apart, I'll always love you." He gave her paw a little squeeze, then got up to leave. He felt a paw grab for his hand.

"A bond like that is strong and true, I will always love you too."

Good Luck smiled through his tears as he bent over and kissed Polite on the cheek. "Oh Polite, your rhyme came back."

"A bond that is strong and true will not break. Hearts are hers and yours to take, said Perfect, smiling.

"You got that right!" said Tenderheart from the doorway.

"Oh Tenderheart! Her rhyme came back! Isn't that wonderful?"

"It sure is Good Luck, it sure is."

* * *

A few hours later, the Pandas and Care Bears (and Care Bear cousin), were standing outside in front the cloud car, getting ready to make the journey back to Care-a-Lot.

"So long, Perfect and Polite, thanks for having us," said Tenderheart, giving each of the pandas a hug.

"Yeah, bye. It was nice seeing you again," said Swiftheart. "Sorry we can't stay longer, but there are children on earth who need us."

"We understand" said Perfect. "Thanks for the visit, it was grand."

"Good-bye Polite. I'll miss you, but I'll be back soon. I'll visit you often," said Good Luck, giving Polite a tender good-bye kiss.

"Good bye Good Luck bear. I know you'll always care. While we are apart, I'll keep this token of love next to my heart."

"Good bye Pandas!" sang out Tenderheart as the cloud car lifted off the ground, preparing to take off into the sky.

As Tenderheart steered the cloud car towards Care-a-Lot, he stole a glance back at Good Luck. Good Luck was leaned over the side of the car, waving to Polite, only stopping as the Pandas become a tiny speck on the ground, and then disappearing as the cloud car made its way over the clouds toward home.


End file.
